


Trouble Breathing

by GothicBarbie



Series: Trouble [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anger, Angst, Blow Jobs, Break Up, Chaptered, Drinking, Frustration, Hand Jobs, I Love You, Jealousy, Kissing, Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Porn With Plot, Promises, Sexual Frustration, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 06:57:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2763887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicBarbie/pseuds/GothicBarbie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam tries to cope with Harry being away at University but it's a lot harder than he thought it would be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trouble Breathing

It’s almost midnight when Liam hears the knocking. He was fast asleep when it started and at first he thinks it’s part of his dream but when it continues he realizes that someone is actually outside of his house. He should probably be more afraid, considering the time of night, but he’s only partly awake and his sleep haze is giving him weird courage. He doesn’t even bother looking out the peep hole to see who it is; he doesn’t have patience for that at the moment. Considering he has to be up at 4:30 the next morning he’s not too thrilled that his sleep is being interrupted.

  
He opens the door in a rush and has to blink a few times before he is able to register who exactly is standing in front of him.

  
“Miss me?” The curly haired eighteen year old says, smiley brightly at him.

  
“Harrry?” Liam manages to spit out, smile forming on his face instantly. “What are you…”

  
But before he can even manage to finish the question his former student and current boyfriend steps inside the doorframe and pulls Liam immediately into a kiss.

  
“Cuz I definitely missed you.” Harry says in between kisses, pushing Liam backwards and shutting the door behind him with his foot.

 

 

\--

 

  
As much as Liam would love for this to continue he has too many thoughts racing through his head.

  
“Harry…” Liam mutters, managing to push Harry away slightly, “what are you doing here on a Sunday? You have class tomorrow?”

  
“I’m not going.” Harry smirks, gripping the back of Liam’s neck and pulling him in roughly for another kiss, not giving Liam a chance to say anything else.

  
Harry manages to push them both backwards, into Liam’s bedroom where he’s been many times before. “I’d rather be doing this.” He finally answers.

  
Sometimes Liam’s forgets about the age difference between them. For an eighteen year old Harry sure knows how to take control. He never seemed to be intimidated by the fact that Liam was quite a bit older. In fact, it seemed like the age difference made him want Liam more.

  
And right now it was pretty obvious how much Harry wanted him, if the bulge in his pants was anything to go by. Liam couldn’t get a word in, Harry’s mouth was latched so tightly to his own.

  
Not that Liam was resisting. The last time he saw Harry was two weeks ago and that was way too long in Liam’s opinion, but considering the fact that Harry lived four hours away from him, there wasn’t a lot to be done. Harry was away at university and Liam really wanted to give him the space to be a teenager for his remaining years and allow him to fun. He refused to be the needy boyfriend.

  
Liam insisted that he was fine with the distance, even if that wasn’t entirely true. He missed Harry so much now that he didn’t see him every day and having him right here in front of him again was like a dream.

  
“I’m so happy to see you.” Liam manages to get in before he feels himself being pushed down on the bed. “I missed you so much.”

  
Harry pauses for a minute, smiling down at Liam with his big adorable smile, “I missed you too. “ Harry says again, climbing on top of Liam and suddenly leaning down to pull up the hem of Liam’s t-shirt, exposing his skin to the night air. The weather is starting to get colder at this time of year of Liam can feel the slight chill as it hits his skin. But then a second later Harry’s leaning down and placing a kiss to Liam’s stomach, his mouth feels wet and warm and Liam’s body is on overdrive. “And I missed this bed.”

  
Harry smirks up at Liam briefly before continuing to place kisses down Liam’s stomach until his mouth hits the top of Liam’s boxers.

  
“You know what I else I missed?” Harry teases, lifting his head up slightly to make eye contact with Liam.

  
“What?” Liam barely whispers. He’s anxious for the response.

  
“How hard I make you.” Harry says quietly, dipping his head back down and putting his mouth right onto the front of Liam’s boxers. There’s only a little bit of fabric separating his glorious mouth from Liam’s dick and Liam’s head falls back immediately, enjoying how good this feels.

  
Harry’s words have sparked something in him and as he continues to tease Liam he’s growing harder with every second that passes.

  
Liam’s missed this too… way too much and he tries hard not to think about the fact that each time they do this, more time passes from the time before. Liam doesn’t want to think about that now though…. he doesn’t want to worry or feel jealous that his boyfriend is away and that they seem to be slowly pulling away from each other.

  
Then Harry’s fingers are dipping into his boxers, which pull Liam back to the present and he whips his head down to sneak a glance. Harry’s holding eye contact with him as his hands trail lower, his fingers tightly wrapping around Liam’s cock. Then Liam’s boxers are coming all the way off and Harry’s got his other hand rubbing firmly against Liam’s balls while the first is still stroking him gently. He moves his way back up and the way Harry is looking at Liam during all of this almost makes Liam feel a little shy, he still gets slightly nervous every time they have sex. And with Harry’s dominant personality it’s easy for Liam to feel like he’s the teenager here.

  
Harry picks up the pace of his hand and flicks his tongue out quickly against Liam's neck, licking up his skin until his tongue finds the edge of his jaw, close to his ear. The feeling goes straight to his cock and is making Liam even wetter. It’s amazing how fast Harry can get Liam there. Before Harry, Liam never had sex this intense.

  
It’s when Harry’s lips finally close around Liam’s earlobe that Liam can’t take it anymore. Despite how good this is starting to feel he doesn’t want to cum this way… not after this long.

  
“Come here” Liam breathes out, using his hand to yank Harry's face towards his own quickly.

  
“What are you doing?” Harry asks with a smile, “I was barely getting started…”

  
“I wanna fuck you.” Liam growls, finally taking control and pushing Harry backwards. He grips his wrists tightly and yanks them over the younger boys head, then using his left hand he holds both of them together.

  
Liam’s not pushing too hard, but just enough to show that he means business and Harry’s just staring up at him with wide eyes.

  
“Fuck Liam. You’re so hot when you do that.” He says, squirming a little bit underneath Liam. Liam tightens his grip, reminding Harry that he needs to stay still. Even if Harry tried to push Liam away it wouldn’t work… they both know how much stronger Liam is.

  
“Behave” Liam teases, using his right hand to get Harry’s belt undone and off. He moves to his trousers next, unbuttoning them quickly and yanking them down.

  
“Really, Haz?” Liam laughs, noticing that Harry isn’t wearing anything underneath.

  
“I figured it was a waste of time to put them on, considering they’d be coming off anyways.” Harry smiles again and Liam laughs then. He loves how easy things are with Harry, how comfortable and fun they can be even in moments like this.

  
“Good thinking.” Liam smirks, leaning down to kiss Harry once again on the mouth.

  
“God I miss how you taste.” Liam whimpers into his mouth, trailing slowly over his jaw and down to his neck. He pauses to breathe in the scent of Harry’s shampoo.

“How you smell….” His hand quickly finds Harry’s hole and he teases it gently with his fingers, “how you feel.”

  
“Oh just do it already” Harry whines out and Liam quickly obeys, leaning over to the nightstand to grab the lube he has stashed there.

  
While Liam works quickly to coat some of it onto his fingers and onto Harry, Harry’s lips are latching to Liam’s neck and he’s sucking wildly, “I’ve been thinking about this for the last two weeks, I’m dying Liam.”

  
“Me too.” Is all that Liam can manage to spit out. His brain is too fuzzy thinking about what he’s about to do. He lines himself up and glances at Harry one more time before pushing in. Liam loosens his grip on Harry’s wrists as he sinks further inside.

  
“Now you can move” Liam smiles.

 

\--

 

  
Harry wakes to the sound of Liam’s light breathing, the sheets from the bed are low around his waist and Harry can see Liam’s entire chest rise and fall as he breathes. Harry only stares for a minute, taking in the sight. Sometimes he can’t believe how incredibly lucky he is to have such a gorgeous, mature older boyfriend.

He shifts over, placing his arm gently on top of Liam and tucking himself into Liam’s neck, taking in his scent. He tries his hardest not to wake him, but I’ts useless and the second his head touches Liam’s shoulder, Liam is stirring and opening his eyes. Harry looks up at him and smiles sheepishly. Even though they’ve done this a million times before, he still feels giddy every morning after.

  
Liam threads his fingers into Harry’s hair, stroking softly. They don’t have to say anything; they always know exactly what the other is thinking.

  
They lay, just staring at one another until Liam finally speaks up, “Why did you skip class Harry? Honestly?”

  
Harry knows that Liam appreciates the surprise but it’s not like Harry to skip class. Since he’s graduated he’s been pretty serious about school and Liam’s encouraged it. And as a teacher, Harry knew that Liam hated to see him miss.

  
“I don’t know…” Harry sighs. Honestly, he’s missed Liam… desperately missed him since he’s been away. But he’s not sure if he should share that information with Liam. He doesn’t want to come off as the needy immature boyfriend.

  
“Harry, come on.” Liam says again more urgently, gripping the back of Harry’s neck for emphasis.

  
“It just gets kind of lonely sometimes, you know?” Harry whispers. When he looks up at Liam, he seems to be deep in thought. Maybe Liam really does understand what he’s going through.

  
“Yeah…” Liam says quietly before continuing… “but you always look like you’re having so much fun. Always posting pictures with your roommates… going out a lot…”

  
The way he says the last words, Harry wonders if Liam means anything by them.

  
“That’s true, it’s fun but… it’s not the same without you.”

  
Liam finally breaks a smile and it makes Harry feel better than ever. Liam surprises him by leaning down and kissing him hard. “I am really glad you are here.” He smirks, kissing Harry again, deeper this time.

  
Maybe Harry should try a little bit harder to be more independent and not rely so heavily on his relationship.

  
Things will be fine.

 

  
\--

 

 

It’s a week later when Liam sees the photos. Harry’s been tagged on facebook at a club, dancing and laughing and having fun. In one photo in particular he’s annoyingly close to another male. It’s no one that Liam recognizes and he hates to think it, but he’s jealous. Even though Harry had claimed to be lonely the week before Liam can’t help but feel like there was something else going on. Maybe Harry just felt guilty about the fun he was actually having and came to visit Liam so he wouldn’t worry. He tries not to overreact or feel paranoid but he can’t help it. He’s been miserable here without Harry and he isn’t sure how he ever got by without him before this last year. Sure, he had put on a good front when Harry had visited but now that Harry has gone back to his normal life, Liam yet again feels the loss.

  
Liam thinks back to last year when Harry fought so hard to be with him. Things were so exciting and fun back then, but now things were so different. In some ways they were better of course, but Liam wondered if maybe Harry was changing his mind. Now that he’s at university he’s at the age where he should be going out and having fun and meeting new people and having experiences. Sometimes Liam wonders if he’s holding him back. Liam worries that Harry will realize this and leave him in the dust.

  
Liam shuts his computer off, not wanting to look at the pictures anymore.

 

  
\--

 

  
The next time that Harry goes home, it’s a few weeks later and he wants to surprise Liam. He hasn’t talked to him in about a week. He didn’t realize so much time had passed but he’d been so busy with school work and his friends that he’d simply lost track of the time. He felt terrible about it and knew that he needed to do something to make up for it. He had plans to take Liam out to dinner and he hoped that Liam wouldn’t be too upset with him.

  
Although Liam hadn’t exactly taken the effort to reach out to him either, but maybe he was giving Harry some space. Harry hoped that this was the reason and not that Liam forgot about him or something. Harry knows it’s a crazy thought but he’s always been a little bit insecure with Liam; never felt like he was good enough.

Liam was so smart and mature and Harry always felt like such a kid around him. At first it was fun, being so much younger but feeling like he had so much control. Lately things have felt a little off.

  
Sometimes he regretted his decision to move away for university but Liam had encouraged it, not wanting Harry to stick around just for him. He had wanted Harry to live his life. But now that Harry was doing exactly that he couldn’t help but feel guilty, like the distance was somehow ruining their relationship.

  
But Harry refuses to let that happen and when he arrives at Liam’s house he practically bursts through the door, not bothering to knock.

  
Much to his surprise, Liam isn’t alone.

  
A dark haired man, about Liam’s age, with flawless darker toned skin and a ton of tattoos (more than even Harry has managed to collect in the past year) is sitting close to Liam on the couch. Almost too close in Harry’s opinion. He recognizes the man from some of Liam’s old photos.

  
He’d never met Zayn but he had seen him once before, at one of his old basketball practices. He was Liam’s best friend growing up and at one point Harry had thought there was more between them but Liam had always insisted that they were just friends.

  
Looking at them now though, things don’t appear that way. Zayn is staring at Liam with so much fondness it makes Harry’s heart hurt a little. It’s more than clear just by looking at them now that Zayn has deeper feelings for Liam than Liam has ever led on. The two are so engaged in conversation with one another that they don’t even notice Harry until he’s been standing there for a few moments.

  
“Harry?” Liam says suddenly, standing immediately and quickly moving over to Harry. “What… what are you doing here?” Liam says in his fake surprised tone, as if he has no idea why a former student is barging into his house right now.

Harry immediately catches on; he knows that Liam is trying to appear innocent, considering that no one knows about the two of them. Apparently not even Liam’s so called best friend. Harry understands why he hasn’t told him, of course, but it still stings a bit.

  
“Um, I just wanted to talk to you about that project you were helping me with.” Harry plays along, glancing over at Zayn who’s looking slightly confused. “Sorry about barging in, I knocked… did you not hear it?”

  
Harry’s almost amazed by his own ability to lie and it’s obvious on Liam’s face that he’s grateful.

  
“Oh yeah… lets go in the other room to discuss that?” Liam looks back at Zayn and says, “give us a few minutes?”

  
He places a hand gently on Harry’s shoulder and Harry hates how cold it feels, as if Harry really were just another student to him.

  
Once they are safely in the other room, with the door shut for privacy, Harry surges forward, capturing Liam in a kiss before Liam even has a chance to speak. The kiss is forced and weird and Liam’s quickly pulling away before they can really get into it.

  
“Harry, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you call first?” Liam says quickly, as if he’s trying to rush through the conversation. It’s clear how uncomfortable he feels.

  
“I’m sorry Liam, I just wanted to come and surprise you. I haven’t seen you in a long time and I missed you.”

  
Liam smiles then and Harry can tell that it’s genuine.

  
“I missed you too. So much.” Liam says, grabbing Harry by the shoulders and pulling him inwards for a hug. Harry sinks into him, enjoying the feel. It’s always when he’s around Liam that he realizes just how much he cares for him. Just how much he needs him.

  
“It’s just…” Liam says, pulling away, “I wish I would have known you were coming… Zayn’s here for the weekend, so it’s just not really possible for you to stay.”

  
Harry almost feels like he’s being slapped in the face. Obviously Harry's not gonna have Liam ask Zayn to leave or anything but last year Liam would have made some sort of plan to sneak out or see Harry. Does he just expect Harry to drive back home?

  
“I feel so bad, Harry, I really want to be with you.”

  
Harry believes the words but it still hurts, knowing that their plans will have to wait for a later time.

  
“It’s okay.” Harry says quickly, trying to gather his composure. “I guess I should have told you I was coming… but… how come you didn’t say Zayn would be here?”

  
Harry doesn’t want to appear insecure, but it does feel a little strange that Liam never even mentioned that he’d be seeing Zayn over the weekend. Or letting Zayn stay in his house.

  
“I didn’t know he was coming,” Liam says softly, rubbing Harry’s shoulders to comfort him. “Looks like he got to me first.” He says it with a smile but Harry doesn’t find it that funny.

  
“Well, I guess I should leave then.” Harry says softly, looking at Liam with a sad face and hoping it will make him feel a little guilty for sending him away.

  
“Wait…” Liam says firmly, grabbing Harry’s wrist and pulling him back. Liam yanks Harry towards him with both hands, fingers gripping into Harry’s curls and pulling him into a deep kiss. “Thank you.” He whispers. “I love you so much.”

  
They kiss for a few moments and Harry can feel himself get lost in it. It feels so good to be here with Liam, almost as if nothing has changed at all.

 

\--

 

Liam goes to sleep that night feeling terrible. He hated sending Harry away but he didn’t see any other option. His best friend Zayn was unexpectedly in town and he wanted to be a good friend. But if he was being honest with himself he’d rather spend that time with Harry. He appreciated that Harry had come to see him yet again and it was clear that he wanted to work on their relationship as much as Liam did.

  
Liam planned to pay Harry a visit as soon as he had the opportunity and just hoped that by tomorrow it wouldn’t be too late.

  
Liam shuts his eyes and tries to get some sleep, but a noise at his window startles him awake and he looks up to see Harry’s familiar side swept curls blowing in the wind outside.

  
Liam rushes over, quickly opening the window and helping Harry through. He gets an instant flash of de ja vu as Harry stumbles inside. Once, last year, Harry had snuck into Liam’s room during a party. It was an amazing night and just the thought of it gives Liam butterflies.

  
But as happy as Liam is to see him, he can’t help but think about Zayn sleeping in the room over. After Liam’s roommate Greg had moved out, the old room became the guest room and even though it was down the hall, the flat was pretty small and Liam was worried that Zany might hear.

  
“Harry, what are you doing?” Liam says with a laugh, but he’s not even sure why he bothers asking. At this point, Liam expects Harry to do whatever he pleases. He should have expected Harry to return once Zayn was in bed. It appears that Harry surprising him is turning into a “thing” now.

  
“Do you really need to ask?” Harry smiles, grabbing Liam by the hand and yanking him over to the bed.

  
“Zayn’s in the other room.” Liam says quietly, reminding Harry that they need to be discreet.

  
But Harry just chuckles, and leans his face right next to Liam’s ear whispering “we’re good at sneaking around, aren’t we?”

  
Harry leans down further and starts sucking on Liam’s neck and it feels incredible. It reminds Liam of all the times in the past that they’ve done this, how they’ve had to hide their relationship from everyone. It’s thrilling and Liam can feel his heart speed up as Harry’s mouth trails lower and lower. He stops once he reaches Liam’s collar bone and Liam can feel his skinny fingers at his waist, pulling his shirt up and over his head.

  
“Get on the bed” Harry whispers and it makes Liam smile. He loves how commanding Harry is being.

  
Liam lies down slowly and watches as Harry climbs on top of him, smirking at him wildly before continuing to kiss down his chest. As good as it feels, Liam’s still worried about Zayn. He knows how loud Harry can be during sex and Liam wouldn’t even know how to explain this to his friend later if they were overheard.

  
Clearly Harry can hear Liam thinking because a second later he is staring up at him.

  
“What is it?” Harry asks gently.

  
“Nothing” Liam lies, hesitating for a second before finishing, “It’s just… Zayn.”

  
Harry sighs and pulls himself off of Liam quickly, moving up to lay beside him and crossing his arms. Liam can see clearly that he’s frustrated.

  
“Hazza, come on. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  
Liam reaches a hand out and brushes a hair out of Harry’s face but he continues to pout.

  
“He has feelings for you, you know.” Harry says firmly and even though Liam suspects that just may be true he doesn’t want to make Harry feel worse by admitting it.

  
“I don’t think that’s true, Harry.”

  
“Yes it is.” Harry says, finally turning to look at him. “And why wouldn’t he, you’re perfect.”

Harry turns away again and Liam has to chuckle. He’s never looked younger than in this moment but weirdly, it’s adorable. And Liam can’t help but smile over the fact that Harry is a little bit jealous.

  
“I swear there is nothing going on with Zayn.” Liam replies, scooting even closer to his boyfriend. “I only love you.”

  
He emphasizes the words so that Harry will know that he means then and he can see Harry soften a little.

  
“I know you do.” Harry says, uncrossing his arms. He turns to Liam. “But I’m still worried.”

  
“About what?” Liam challenges him, wrapping an arm around Harry’s shoulder. Harry sinks into him.

  
“Meeting someone else.”

  
Liam lets out a breath. He doesn’t even know how to respond to that. It’s ironic because it’s exactly what Liam’s been afraid of.

  
“Not gonna happen.” Liam says quietly, leaning in to kiss Harry. He takes his time, kissing him slowly and attempts to erase all of his worries away. The kiss intensifies and Liam shifts his body, pressing himself into Harry. “Can’t you feel how much I want you?” He teases.

  
Harry moans loudly and Liam rushes to cover his mouth.

  
“You really have to learn to be quiet.” He laughs, pressing a little harder.

 

  
\--

 

  
The next morning Harry wakes up to find Liam still sleeping softly next to him. He doesn’t want to wake him but he should probably be heading out soon, before Zayn gets up and finds them together.

  
“Babe” Harry whispers gently to him, kissing him softly on the cheek. “Wake up…”

  
Liam stirs next to him. He doesn’t say anything, just smiles lazily at Harry and nuzzles his head into Harry’s neck as if he doesn’t want to get up.

  
Harry lets him stay like that for a while but then tells Liam that he should probably get going. Liam pouts briefly but Harry kisses him instantly, trying to make him feel a little better. It feels good to have Liam looking so disappointed to see him leaving.

  
“Maybe I can drive down to see you soon?” Liam says gently and Harry nods immediately.

  
“I’d love that.” Harry kisses him one final time before standing. “Just don’t meet anyone else before then.”

  
He means for it to be a joke but Liam isn’t laughing.

  
“Same goes for you.” He says quietly and Harry rushes back over to the bed.

  
“Are you kidding?” He asks, sitting back down and grabbing a hold of Liam’s hands.

  
Liam shrugs. “Sometimes I worry that you’re gonna wanna have fun and go out with your friends and enjoy being single…”

  
But before Liam can keep talking Harry covers his mouth with his hands.

  
“Stop.” The idea is unfathomable to Harry. “Trust me, If I could show you off to everyone I would. I don’t want anyone else. Ever.”

  
Liam smiles at him then, and Harry can tell that he doesn’t completely trust Harry’s words but he isn’t sure what else he can say.

  
“It’s not gonna be like this forever, Liam. Eventually, people will be okay with us being together, but for now we both know that it’s smartest to keep it as discreet as possible.”

  
“I know, you’re right.” Liam agrees. “it’s just hard. I wish I could be with my boyfriend in public.”

  
“It’s only been a year, we can make it a few more.”

  
Even Harry hates the words that are coming out of his mouth but he’s trying his hardest to believe them.

 

  
\--

 

  
When Harry gets back to his dorm Louis is waiting for him and he doesn’t look happy.

  
“Oh, look who decided to show his ugly mug.” Louis says to him sarcastically, a hint of anger laced in his voice. “Almost forgot I had a flatmate for a moment there.”

  
“What are you going on about?” Harry sighs, setting his things down and turning to face his best friend.

  
“You’ve been surprisingly M.I.A all weekend. Where were you?”

  
“Home.” Harry says shortly, not wanting to get into detail. He still hasn’t told Louis about him and Liam. As much as he wants to, he doesn’t think that Louis would truly understand.

  
“Why?” Louis asks again, more firmly and Harry sighs. He doesn’t feel like being interrogated right now.

  
“Give it a rest Lou, I wanted to see my mum. And Gemma.”

  
Louis huffs then, shaking his head and standing.

  
“Well that’s complete bullshit Harry because I know for a fact that Gemma’s away with her mates for the weekend.”

  
Harry tries to respond but he doesn’t know how. He briefly remembers a post Gemma updated on instagram a few days back. He should have remembered. It was a stupid mistake.

  
“Come on Harry, where have you really been going?”

  
Harry ignores the question yet again and replies for a second time, “I told you, home.”

  
“I just don’t get it…” Louis continues, not giving up. “We had so much fun the first few months here and lately it’s like… I don’t know, you don’t wanna be here anymore.”

  
“That’s not true.” Harry responds quickly. He loves university, but he also misses Liam.

  
“Come on.” Louis says and this time Harry can hear his voice softening. He stands and sits next to Harry on his bed, placing a hand on top of his knee. “You’re my best friend Harry, you can tell me anything.”

  
Harry wants to hold strong but the way that Louis is looking at him with his big blue eyes makes Harry want to crumble.

  
“If I tell you, do you promise not to freak out?”

  
“Yes.” Louis says firmly, his grip on Harry’s leg a little tighter.

  
Harry takes a breath, he hopes he doesn’t regret what he’s about to do.

  
“I’ve been going to see Liam.” He finally spits out and Louis is staring at him with a confused expression. “He’s my boyfriend.”

  
A moment passes before Harry finally looks up to meet Lou’s eyes.

  
“Liam? As in… our old teacher Liam?”

  
Harry nods.

  
“You’re not taking the piss?” Louis says honestly and Harry shakes his head. The tension in the room is almost unbearable and Harry regrets saying anything at all. He can tell by the expression on Louis' face that he's not happy.

  
“Are you fucking serious?” Louis almost shouts, standing from the bed and staring down at Harry.

“You said you weren’t gonna freak out.” Harry tries to say but Louis ignores him.

  
“How long?” He inquires, not moving from where he stands.

  
“I don’t know.. Louis.”

  
“How long!” He repeats.

  
“Almost a year.” Harry says quietly.

  
Lou’s eyes grow big and he runs a hand through his hair, starting to pace the room.

  
“Why didn’t you tell me this before? I thought I was your best friend.”

  
“You are!” Harry shouts, standing from the bed himself and attempting to move closer to Louis.

  
“No,” Louis says, pushing away from Harry. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

  
Harry feels like crying. It’s rare when he and Louis fight and Harry can’t stand it. He knows that Louis is just being protective of him but he wishes that his best friend could just support him.

  
When Louis walks out the door, Harry tries his hardest to keep it together.

  
It’s easier said than done.

 

 

The next day Harry can hardly keep things together. He hasn’t spoken to Louis for more than 12 hours and that’s probably the longest they’ve gone without so much as a text message to one another. Harry can’t stand the idea that Louis could be upset with him and every hour he glances at the clock, wanting to get back to his room so that they can have a chance to talk.

  
At 4pm when he’s finally finished with classes he gets back but Louis is not around. Harry can’t help but feel like he's probably ignoring him and it makes Harry feel like complete crap. He should have told Louis about Liam earlier but he was afraid at how he would react, and the conversation from last night was a pretty clear indicator that his instincts had been correct.

  
Finally, a little past 5, Louis enters the room and Harry immediately stands. Louis glances at him quickly before brushing past Harry and setting his stuff down on the bed. He doesn’t say anything but he’s also not attempting to leave the room, which is a good sign. Harry takes a breath and then starts speaking.

  
“I’m sorry.” Is all that he manages to get out. He knows he should probably say more but he doesn’t want to push it either. After a few moments he continues, “please talk to me.”

  
“I don’t know what you want me to say…” Louis begins, taking his shoes off and settling in the bed. “I think he’s using you.” Louis says abruptly.

  
Harry doesn’t know how to respond to that. Obviously, it’s not true, but Louis doesn’t know the complete details of their relationship.

  
“I promise you, that’s not true. We’re an official couple, Louis. It’s not just about sex.”

  
Louis winces at the last words, like he doesn’t want to imagine what Liam and Harry’s sex life looks like.

  
“Look, I know you thought it was just a stupid crush last year and you were always against it but you have to know that our feelings for each other are real.”

  
Louis chuckles a little at that, as if he doesn’t believe Harry and then finally looks up at him. “Harry, you’re 18. He’s in his 20’s. You were a student…. he took advantage of you.”

  
“I went after him!” Harry yells. If only Louis the extent of how things had happened. “I pursued him, Louis. He was a good guy okay? He tried to resist it, but I wouldn’t stop…. Come on, you know how I can be when I want something.”

“Yeah…I do.” Louis says, seeming to be softening a little, “but he should still know better.”

  
“Regardless,” Harry says, “I’m an adult now. And he’s not my teacher anymore…. And I love him.”

  
Louis looks up at the last statement, as if he can’t believe what Harry just said. Harry’s never loved anyone before and it’s probably a shock to hear the words actually come out of his mouth.

  
“Please be supportive of this.” Harry finishes. Louis is non-responsive, only staring at Harry as if he didn’t even hear his last words. Then after a few minutes he looks down, finally getting out of bed and walking over to his closet.

  
“Come out with us tonight.” Louis says over his shoulder, completely changing the subject.

  
It’s almost like he’s challenging Harry… inviting him out because he knows he probably won’t want to go. As if finally admitting he has a boyfriend changes things.

Harry wants to prove Louis wrong, prove that things are still the same between them. And he’s happy with the fact that Louis is even talking to him.

  
“Okay.” Harry says meekly and turns around, trying to figure out what to wear. He doesn’t exactly want to go but this is Louis, he doesn’t want to lose their friendship and he’s going to try his hardest to have a little bit of fun.

 

  
\--

 

 

It’s loud in the club and it smells like smoke and it wasn’t until tonight that Harry actually realized how much he didn’t miss this. He used to be all about having a good time, but ever since things have felt distant with Liam he’d found himself not enjoying it as much.

  
“Having fun?” Louis asks over the noise of the music and Harry just nods, then takes another sip of his beer. He doesn’t want to get wasted tonight but he wants Louis to think that he’s having fun. Louis smiles at him and turns back around, heading back towards the crowd.

Harry takes the opportunity to glance at his phone and is surprised to see a red alert next to his message icon. He opens his inbox to see that Liam’s left him three messages. The first simply says “hey” and it was sent a little after Harry and Louis had left the dorm. The next was sent about an hour ago and it reads, “how are u?” and then the last one, sent a few minutes after the second just says “???.”

  
Harry instantly feels bad for not replying earlier and he immediately responds with “heading to bed soon :)” He knows he should just be honest with Liam and tell him where he’s at but it’s easier just to lie. The last time Liam knew he’d been going out it caused a rift between them and Harry doesn’t want to risk that happening again.

  
“Hey! No phones tonight.” Louis says, grabbing the phone out of Harry’s hand.

  
“Louis, don’t.”

  
But Louis is too quick and sneaks a glance at the screen.

  
Harry snatches the phone back but he knows that Louis saw the texts. He doesn’t want to get into things again so he just puts the phone back in his pocket. “Okay, no phones tonight.” He says to Louis and Louis pauses for a second, then smiles.

  
“Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  
Harry’s phone buzzes in his pocket and he desperately wants to check and see what Liam’s said back but he resists the urge, wanting to keep his promise to Louis.

Louis introduces him to a guy named George. He’s looks young, and he’s definitely attractive with a huge smile and hair almost similar to his own. George is a lot of fun and as the night goes on Harry forgets about his phone in his pocket and stops counting the number of drinks that he’s consumed.

  
He may have a small buzz going but he can clearly tell that George is hitting on him and Louis keeps making subtle comments about how good they look together and it’s starting to get under his skin. Was this Louis’ sneaky way of getting him away from Liam?

  
It’s when George places a hand low on Harry’s back that he has to say something.

  
“George, I think you should know… I have a boyfriend.”

  
He attempts to say it quietly but he can see Louis out the corner of his eye. He knows that he’s overheard.

  
“Oh, I’m sorry mate, I didn’t realize…” George begins to say and Harry just smiles back at him, saying that it’s okay.

  
“Hey” Harry says to Louis. “I’m gonna head back for the night.”

  
He hopes that he comes across as cold and it clearly works because Louis is following close behind him and running to catch up before he gets out the door.

  
“Harry stop, I’m sorry.”

  
“For what?” Harry baits.

  
“For George. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  
Harry doesn’t reply, just waits.

  
“Are you really serious about him?” He asks.

  
Harry knows that he’s referring to Liam now. He simply nods.

  
“I hope he feels the same about you.” Louis says quietly and Harry smiles back at him. At least this is progress.

  
“Come on.” Louis says, putting an arm around Harry. “Let’s go home.”

 

 

  
Harry checks his phone once they’re in the cab. There’s a single “1” next to his messages. He pulls up the text from Liam.

  
“miss u.”

  
It’s late and he knows that Liam is probably asleep but he can’t stop himself from messaging back.

  
“love you.”

 

 

  
Harry crashes as soon as his head hits the pillow. But he makes sure to set his alarm for 5am the next morning. It’ll only give him a few hours to sleep but it’s just enough time to sleep off his buzz.

  
When the alarm goes off he curses the open air but immediately changes clothing and grabs his keys. Not even pausing to look back at Louis as he exits the room.  


 

\--

 

It’s way too early when Liam hears the knocking. He can’t imagine who’d be at his door this early in the morning but it sounds urgent, so he gets out of bed and slowly walks to the door.

  
He opens it in a hurry, his eyes widening when he sees Harry standing there. He should have expected it at this point. “Harry?” Is all that he gets out before Harry’s shoving his way inside and into Liam’s arms. He holds Liam tightly and Liam enjoys how it feels, breathing in his scent. It’s only been a few days since they last saw each other but it feels like ages ago and Liam doesn’t want to let him go.

  
“What are you…” Liam begins to ask but Harry just grabs his hand and pulls him back to the bedroom.

  
“Shhhh… Let’s just go back to bed.”

  
Liam’s still confused but he resists asking questions right now.

  
It can definitely wait.

 

  
\--

 

  
Liam’s startled awake later that morning by hands running softly through his hair. He opens his eyes to see Harry’s green ones staring down at him and he smiles, remembering again how Harry had surprised him very early this morning with his presence.

  
“Mmm… morning.” Liam says sleepily as Harry leans down to kiss him softly on the lips.

  
Liam enjoys the way that Harry’s mouth feels on his own, the way that Harry’s gently sucking on his bottom lip, the way he’s pressing his hips into Liam’s body.

  
“Hey,” Liam says between kisses, grabbing Harry’s shoulders and pushing him away gently. “You gonna explain? We didn’t get a chance to talk much before.”

  
But Harry doesn’t respond, just looks at him sadly and continues to run his fingers through Liam’s hair.

  
“Do you love me?” Harry asks softly and it startles Liam.

  
“Where did that come from?” Liam laughs but Harry just presses him, “do you?”

  
“Of course…” Liam says again and then Harry’s lips are on his urgently.

  
“Show me.” He growls into Liam’s mouth and Liam’s confused but Harry’s tongue is flicking against his own and his hands are trailing under Liam’s shirt and it's making things very blurry. Liam can barely think. Then Harry’s on top of him and his erection is pressing into Liam’s and Liam’s completely losing his train of thought. Harry hasn’t been this way in a while and it excites Liam. “Show me.” Harry says again as he lowers his mouth and sucks on Liam’s neck roughly, pulling at the skin.

  
Liam doesn’t know whats gotten into Harry but right now he doesn’t care. He pushes up and rolls Harry over in an instant, pressing himself down onto him and trying to take control of the situation. Usually he takes things really slow but not right now, and he moves a hand in-between them quickly, slipping his fingers inside of Harry’s pants.

  
Harry moans into his mouth as soon as Liam gets his hand on him, stroking Harry immediately. The angle is a little awkward but Harry doesn’t seem to mind as he pushes his hips upwards, creating more friction.

  
Liam uses his other hand to pull Harry’s shirt up and out of the way as he lowers his body downwards, kissing Harry’s stomach as he goes. Harry’s hands are running through his hair, pushing him downwards gently and it’s turning Liam on so much, seeing him so desperate like this.

  
Liam manages to get Harry’s pants down far enough, his other hand still gripping Harry and stroking him with intent.

  
Harry’s pushing Liam’s hair out his face and Liam glances up at him for a second but Harry’s not looking at him, his focus is up at the ceiling and Liam can see Harry swallowing hard, his eyes squeezed shut. Liam lowers his head and finally gets his mouth around Harry, first kissing the head of his cock gently before circling his tongue around the tip. Harry’s hands tighten in his hair at the movement and Liam can hear his breath deepen from above. It encourages Liam to keep going.

  
He’s missed this; missed making Harry feel this way. Missed watching Harry come undone like this. Liam lets his hand trail a little higher, fingers grazing the skin on Harry’s stomach and pressing gently. He can feel Harry’s muscles contracting every second, moving quicker the longer than Liam sucks.

  
Liam feels like Harry’s getting closer but then without warning Harry's coming, white fluid splashing into Liam's mouth as he pulls off. Usually Harry will warn him before he comes, but Liam doesn't mind, lapping at the fluid on his skin. He's barely gotten any into his mouth before he can feel Harry tugging on him, his voice cracking slightly as he tells him stop. Liam looks up confused, but then Harrys yanking him upwards pulling Liam’s slick lips onto his own and kissing him roughly.

Liam is so turned on right now, he’s never seen Harry quite like this before. But he also wonders if something is wrong, Harry’s acting desperate and pushing almost too hard.

  
“I love you” Liam whispers against his lips as they continue to kiss and Harry thrusts his body up into him.

  
“Fuck me” Harry says urgently and Liam’s too turned on right now to resist, immediately pushing himself into Harry without much warning. The pre-come that’s already gathered on Liam’s dick creates a small amount of lubricant but it’s not as slick as it should be and the pressure around Liam as he pushes in is incredibly tight. He worries about hurting Harry, but he doesn’t seem to mind at all, his hips crashing up into Liam’s at the same time that Liam pushes down into him. After a few minutes they find a rhythm and when Liam begins to feel like he’s getting close he slows down a little, trying to make this last.

  
“I love you, I love you…” Liam repeats over and over, knowing it's what Harry needs right now and when Harry grabs at Liam's face, slipping his tongue into his mouth roughly, Liam's riding out his own orgasm. He loves how wet it feels between their bodies as he he pulls out, moving as slow as he can, rolling over and onto his side to catch his breath. He’ll never get tired of this.

  
This time however Harry’s quieter than usual, climbing immediately out of bed and cleaning himself off, then returning back only a few moments later and burying himself underneath the covers. Liam snuggles up to him, wrapping his arms around Harry with urgency, his head resting against Harry’s shoulder.

  
“Whats wrong?” Liam whispers quietly without looking at him, Harry replying unemotionally, “nothing.”

  
Liam can always tell when Harry is lying so he takes a risk, pulling back slightly and looking right at him.

  
“Did you cheat on me?”

  
Harry looks completely stunned. Liam’s unsure of where exactly that question came from but he doesn’t know why else Harry might be acting this way. Harry pulls away from Liam and instantly replies, “no. of course not.”

  
There’s a lot of conviction in his voice and Liam wants to believe him but it’s obvious something isn't right. But before he can even ask again Harry’s looking downwards, avoiding Liam’s gaze.

  
“I told Louis about us…”

  
That was the last thing Liam expected to hear.

 

  
\--

 

 

“You… what?” Liam says, louder than he was a few moments before and pushes back away from Harry, staring at him hard now.

  
He wasn’t about to go telling Liam everything about George and the club so instead he spilled the first thing that came into his mind. He was going to have to tell Liam that Louis knew at some point, he may as well rip the band aid off and tell him now.

  
“You can’t tell people about us, Harry, not even Louis!” Liam yells and Harry’s surprised that Liam is so upset about this.

  
“It’s not that big of a deal, Liam…” Harry begins, but Liam cuts him off.

  
“Yes it is! You know it is. You’re barely out of school. You know I can still get in huge trouble for this.”

  
“He would never say anything.” Harry says calmly, trying to keep Liam’s temper down. He can’t remember a time that Liam’s been this upset with him, unless you counted those few instances that Harry had tried to seduce him last year, but this was different. Right now Liam was genuinely angry.

  
“It’s like you want us to fail.” Liam says out of nowhere and Harry is shocked.

  
“What?” He says, sitting up a little straighter in the bed.

  
“Come on Harry, we barely see each other anymore. You’re always going out with your friends, and now you’re telling Louis about us… are you sure you even want to be in this relationship?”

  
“Are you kidding?” Harry bursts out, getting out of the bed and finding his pants, pulling them on quickly. “I’m trying everything to hold us together!”

  
He doesn’t mean to say it the way that it comes out, but it sounds bad, and he knows it. Liam’s face falls.

  
“Hold it together?” Liam says quietly. “So, you think our relationship is falling apart?”

  
“Don’t you?” Harry says again without thinking. But it’s the truth. “Things have felt so off with us, ever since I left. I try to visit you as much as I can but it’s so hard with school. And you’ve never once come up to see me.”

  
“You know that I can’t do that, Harry.” Liam responds quickly and even though Harry knows he’s right, it still hurts.

  
“Maybe that’s the problem.” Harry blurts out again. He isn’t even sure what he’s saying but it’s like his subconscious is speaking for him. Maybe he’s bottled all of these things inside for too long. “And every time I come to see you I feel like you’re busy, or you’re spending your time with Zayn…”

“That happened one time!” Liam cuts him off, raising his voice again.

  
“I want to go out with Louis like a normal teenager, but sometimes I feel like I can’t because I worry what you’re gonna think. I worry that you’re gonna think I’m trying to pick up other guys. And when I don’t go, Louis gets frustrated. I don’t know how to make everyone happy.” Harry knows that he’s being difficult but it doesn’t make all the things he’s been feeling for the past month just disappear.

  
“Make yourself happy, Harry.” Liam insists, like it’s so easy. “What do you want to do?”

  
“I don’t know.” Harry responds, defeated. He doesn’t even know what they are arguing about anymore. He doesn’t know what to say.

  
“Okay.” Liam says quietly, finally getting out of the bed himself and finding his clothes, pulling most of them on.

  
“I feel like I’m holding you back.” Liam says, pulling his shirt over his head. “You’re young, and you’re…. beautiful…..” Liam says and Harry’s heart just hurts hearing him speak the words. He can tell by his tone where this conversation is headed. “And so many guys would love to be with you. You should be out there having fun with Louis. You shouldn’t’ be worrying about how I’m gonna feel…”

  
“No, Liam…” Harry tries to back track. Liam’s completely misunderstood this entire conversation. Harry doesn’t want to go out, he doesn’t want to meet anyone else. But Liam’s not even listening to him.

  
“You said yourself you were trying to hold it together… but maybe…” Liam’s voice is barely coming out in a whisper now and Harry can tell that he’s trying to hold back his tears. “Maybe you should stop trying.”

  
“No. No Liam… stop…” Harry says loudly, rushing over to Liam and grabbing him by the shoulders. “I know you don’t mean that…”

  
But it’s no use. Liam won’t even look at him now and he’s pulling away from Harry and walking over to the door.

  
“Go back to Louis, Harry.” He says softly. “Go live your life.”

  
Harry doesn’t even know what to say and he wants to scream and cry and beg for Liam not to do this but he knows that it’s impossible right now. Liam’s made up his mind and there’s nothing that Harry can say that will get through to him.

  
“Fine.” Harry says, now upset. He’s so frustrated that Liam would do this to him. And he’s angry at himself for saying some of the things that he’s said.

  
By the time he gets back to the dorm his anger has subsided and instead it’s replaced with only sadness. He wants to call Liam right now and and apologize. Or better yet, drive back to Liam’s and beg him to reconsider what he’s said but he knows he can’t do any of those things. Knows that at this point it’s just too far gone.  
The only thing left to do is collapse onto Louis’ bed, fall into his arms, and cry himself to sleep.

 

 

—

 

  
It’s been three days. Three days since Harry has last heard from him. It takes all of his energy just to get out of bed and go to class.

  
All that Harry really wants to do is curl up into a ball and sleep forever but Louis refuses to let him mope around.

  
“If he meant anything to you, he wouldn’t have let you go.” Louis tells him.

  
Harry thinks Louis is attempting to make him feel better but it just makes him feel 100 times worse. Whenever Louis brings up Liam Harry changes the subject. He doesn’t want to talk about it and he doesn’t feel like listening to Lou’s “I told you so”s. Of course Lou never actually says the words but Harry knows that’s what he’s thinking.

  
Louis tries his absolute hardest to get Harry to go out with him, to have fun, to do anything it takes to forget Liam but it’s no use, Harry knows it’s going to take a really long time to get over this one.

  
When the weekend comes around again Harry agrees to go out with Louis. He doesn’t exactly feel up to it, but moping around in his dorm isn’t doing any good and maybe getting drunk and flirting with someone that will actually pay attention to him will help to get his mind off of things.

  
George shows up at the party they are at and Harry is actually happy to see him. He’s forgotten how attractive he is. He’s nothing compared to Liam but he’s cute and nice and a lot of fun. Plus it helps that George is really into him. It makes Harry feel better about himself, knowing that at least someone wants him.

  
Maybe Harry drinks a little too much and gets a little too flirtatious. Maybe he ends up mentioning that he’s single and maybe this time, when George leans in to him and touches his back gently, Harry leans back.

  
“Harry I don’t want to…” George attempts to say as Harry gets closer and closer to his face, but Harry doesn’t even give him a chance to finish his sentence before he’s covering George’s mouth with his own, shutting him up promptly.

  
As they’re kissing Harry briefly wonders what George was about to say but it doesn’t even matter, right now he needs this.

  
And he’s thankful when he can feel George pressing back.

 

 

\--

 

 

They spend the entire night kissing and dancing and smoking and Harry drinks more and more until he is ready to pass out. The night turns into a blur but he vaguely remembers leaving with George around midnight.

  
The next morning he wakes up in George’s bed, head pounding and stomach churning. George is passed out next to him so Harry takes the opportunity to gather his things and cut out before George sees him leaving.

  
He can’t help but feel guilty over the events from last night. Not that he did anything wrong… technically he and Liam were broken up now (Harry hated even saying that to himself) and he’d done exactly what Liam had wanted him to do.

  
Harry had hoped that spending the night with George would erase all these horrible feelings but if anything it only seemed to make it worse. All Harry can think about is Liam as he trudges back to his dorm defeated and feeling like absolute shit.

 

  
Things get even worse when Harry gets back to his dorm and opens the door to find Liam sitting at the foot of his bed.

  
“Hey.” Liam says quietly, standing immediately, and sheepishly putting his hands in his pockets. His eyes are on the floor and he looks nervous.

  
“Hey…” Harry replies. He’s not sure what to say. But he doesn’t have to much time to think about it because Liam’s walking towards him and all Harry wants to do right now is run and hide.

  
“Louis let me in… said you should be back soon…”

  
Liam’s standing inches in front of Harry and all Harry can think about is how beautiful he looks, albeit a little tired.

  
“He wasn’t very happy about me being here and I think he wanted to tell me to shove off, but I can be persistent.”

  
Liam laughs at that and just the sound of it makes Harry’s heart hurt.

  
“What are you doing here?” Harry finally asks and Liam startles him by grabbing his face in his hands and pulling Harry closer.

  
“I’ve just been thinking about everything and….” He pauses for a second, looking right into Harry’s eyes, “I just want everything to go back to normal… you know?”

  
He smiles again and Harry tries to smile back. He’s happy to hear the words come out of Liam’s mouth but he can’t just forget everything that’s happened in the past month. And when he thinks about the events from last night it just makes him feel that much more ill.

  
Liam goes in to kiss him, his lips pressing against Harry’s softly and as much as Harry’s missed the familiar feel, he can’t fully enjoy it this time. Harry hesitantly kisses back, still not sure what to think or what to say. It’s gentle at first but too quick and Liam’s pulling away before it even really starts.

  
“Have you been smoking?” Liam asks suddenly and Harry doesn’t respond. Liam takes a step back and glances over Harry quickly, assessing him. “You don’t usually smoke unless you’re wasted… have you been out all night?”

  
His face instantly changes when Harry doesn’t respond to that question either.

  
“Oh my god,” Liam says, turning away from Harry. “Did you stay over at someones last night?”

  
Harry wants to stay silent but he knows he’ll have to speak up soon. There’s no use denying anything at this point, Liam has clearly already figured things out.

  
“Liam, you’re the one that told me to go out and…”

  
“It’s been a week Harry!” Liam says, his voice loud, “I didn’t think you’d actually….”

  
He can’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

  
“We didn’t have sex.”

  
Harry knows it’s not going to make things much better but he feels that it’s important for Liam to know. As much as he tried to take things further with George he hadn’t been able to. Thoughts of Liam consumed his mind the entire night.

  
“Oh okay," Liam laughs but Harry can hear the anger laced in his voice, "but you did other things with him?”

  
Harry doesn’t like Liam’s accusatory tone, after all, this all started because Liam had told Harry to go out and live his life. It wasn't Harry's decision. 

  
“So what was all that you said to me a week ago then?” Harry asks, his vice rising. “A test? Were you trying to see if I’d just… wait around for you and be miserable?”

  
“It wasn’t a test Harry, but if it was then you failed!” Liam says harshly.

  
“I can’t take this.” Harry interrupts, walking away from Liam and towards the door. “You tell me it’s over and then you show up here and you just expect everything to go back to normal? Well, it’s not that easy! I wish that it was, but you just make me feel so… frustrated. You’re mad that I’m going out when you’re hanging out with Zayn every night!”

  
“How many times do I have to tell you that that is NOTHING! He’s a friend!”

  
Liam’s fuming and Harry doesn’t think he’s ever seen him this angry. But Harry can’t handle feeling like this.

“I think you were right last week…” He says, not even believing that the words are coming out of his mouth, “I think we do need a break. I can’t keep going in circles with you like this.”

  
Liam’s face falls and he looks down at the floor again before finally looking up, avoiding Harry’s eyes. “Ok.” He says quietly. “If that’s what you want.”

  
He just stands there for a few moments and Harry wonders if he’s gonna say anything else but he just walks past Harry and out the door. Harry wants to scream out to him, tell him that this isn't what he wants, that what he wanted was for things to go back to normal between them. But there's no use, Liam is already gone.

  
Harry feels like throwing something, he’s so upset. He’s not sure if he’s more angry at Liam or himself but the anger inside him causes him to want to do something reckless.

  
He gets online, signing into Facebook quickly and immediately posts the pictures of him and George from the night before. Maybe it’s stupid and childish but it’s all he has left.

 

  
—

 

  
Liam’s absolutely miserable. He closes his computer out and tries to force himself to sleep but all he can think about is Harry. He’s fucked everything up and now Harry’s moving on and according to the photos on his facebook page, he seems perfectly fine without him. Meanwhile, Liam is trying his hardest not to break down every hour. Every minute, even.

  
When he thinks back on their last conversation it makes him want throw up, he wishes he could go back and change everything that happened that day. He shouldn’t have gotten so upset that Harry had been out all night, but he couldn’t help himself… imagining Harry with someone else makes his blood boil.  
All he really wanted to do was fix things with Harry and instead he’d made them exponentially worse.

 

—

 

 

Harry goes out every night after that and George has somehow become the third party to he and Louis. It’s pretty obvious how into Harry George is and Harry craves the attention. Louis has his doubts, he knows that Harry is only rebounding and warns him to be careful but Harry doesn’t want to hear it. George is the only thing that’s taking his mind off Liam.

  
He hasn’t stayed over at George’s since that first night though… he’s hesitant to give George any indication that things could actually go somewhere between them, but drunk make outs at the clubs are harmless.

  
That night when he goes home he obsessively checks his phone like he has every other night in the last few weeks, but just like every other time, he has no new messages or calls from Liam.

  
He takes advantage of the time he has alone (Louis is still out with friends) to give himself a little attention. It’s been weeks since he’s gotten off and he needs this right now.

  
As his hand finds his way downwards and into his pants all Harry can think about is Liam... Liam's rough hands stroking him the way that Harry loves, Liam's broad shoulders hovering over him as they kiss; memories of Liam fill Harry’s head as he picks of the pace of his hand.

  
Harry tries to think of anything else, but its impossible and when he’s orgasming it’s Liam’s face that he sees.

 

—

 

  
After a month Liam’s feeling a little better about things. He’s still not okay. Far from it. But the distance from Harry has allowed him to clear his head a bit. Maybe he’s not ready to accept that they are over for good but he’s trying to tell himself that space is good for them. Maybe once Harry sees what life is like without him he’ll come running back. But Liam doesn’t exactly want that either. At least not right now. He just wants Harry to be happy.

  
There’s a new teacher at his work, his name is Michael and he’s an amazing person. Really funny and unique and really sweet and he and Liam get along amazingly well. Interestingly enough he kind of reminds Liam of Harry, he has the same sort of energy and he instantly makes Liam feel better about things.

  
He knows there’s an attraction there from Michael’s end. He’s old enough to be able to tell the signs. And when Michael asks him out he can’t turn him down. Even if it’s too soon to be dating he could use someone like Michael in his life. Someone mature that’s his own age that he can just be himself with. Someone that, eventually, he could date publicly if he wanted to. He wouldn’t have to worry about what people would think about them being together.

 

 

Things with Michael go really well. It’s easy and there’s no complications and they have a great time together. He wants to take things really slow and Liam is perfectly okay with that, also not ready to be so intimately close to someone again just yet.

  
But as much as they get along, it can’t stop Liam from thinking about Harry. He still occasionally checks Harry’s Facebook and over time there are new photos of Harry posted with George, it reassures Liam that he’s doing the right thing by trying to move on.

  
He knows nothing about this George guy. His Facebook page is set to private. But he goes to school with Harry and apparently he’s been spending a lot of time with him. If the pictures are anything to go by, there’s something more there. Liam wonders exactly what they mean to each other but there’s nothing he can do. It’s not like he's going to call up Harry and ask him about it.

 

  
Liam does end up calling Harry though. He knows that he shouldn’t but it’s been a month and he misses just talking to him. There’s no harm in him trying to be friendly.

  
When Harry picks up and says hello he can hear voices in the background and he wonders if one of them belongs to George, but quickly dismisses the thought.

  
“Liam?” Harry says, sounding shocked to hear from him. “Hold on a minute, it’s loud in here.”

  
A few seconds later Liam can hear what sounds like a door shutting and the voices are gone, now its just Liam and Harry. Even though they are miles a part it still feels awkward somehow, tension flooding through the phone wires.

  
“Hey.” Liam says again, instantly freezing. Now he regrets even calling to begin with, he doesn’t even know where to begin.

  
“What’s going on?” Harry asks after a moment. “How are you?”

  
“I’m great… actually. I guess.”

  
Harry doesn’t respond and Liam wonders if that was the right thing to say.

  
“Harry, I don’t really have a good reason to be calling, I guess I just wanted to hear your voice, you know?”

  
“Um…” Harry replies and Liam doesn’t wait for a response.

  
“I just…I miss you.”

  
It’s lame and he probably should’t have said it but it slips out and then Harry’s talking and Liam can barely keep up, he's going so fast.

  
“It’s good to hear from you too Liam, but you should probably know that I’m kinda… seeing someone now. His name is George and he’s a year older and he’s really great.”

  
“Oh” Liam says, interrupting, “no, that’s awesome, Harry, really. I’m actually seeing someone too.”

  
He’s not sure why he blurts it out but he doesn’t want to look pathetic, like he’s been at home pining for Harry or something. The entire conversation feels awkward and forced, its not like he can make things much worse. 

  
“Oh.” Harry says softly, and then silence again.

  
“Yeah, his names Michael. He teaches here…”

  
“That’s great Liam.” Harry says quietly and Liam wonders if he actually means it.

  
But now the tension feels even greater and Liam really doesn’t know what to say.

  
“Look, I didn’t call just to tell you that, but I guess if we’re gonna be friends we should be honest with each other.”

  
“Yeah, totally.” Harry says unconvincingly and then Liam can hear voices again and he knows that this call is going to be ending soon.

  
“Uh, Liam? I should probably get back but it was really good to hear from you, honestly.”

  
Liam can hear the sincerity in Harry’s voice and he hopes that he means it.

  
“Yeah, you too. Maybe sometime we can catch up.”

  
He says it but he knows it’ll never happen.

  
“Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you later?” Harry responds and Liam says okay one last time.

  
“Bye Liam.”

  
“Bye Harry.”

  
Liam hangs up the phone. That didn’t go exactly how he’d imagined.

 

 

—

 

 

Harry wonders when he's ever going to get out of this funk.

  
The phone call with Liam was an absolute train wreck. He’d composed himself fine but deep down he was so angry with Liam.

  
He was actually seeing someone? Like, actually dating someone else? And he called him just to what, rub it in his face?

  
Not that Harry had much room to talk. He’d mentioned George and there were pictures of them together plastered all over the internet, but somehow, it was different. With George he was just trying to move on. Trying to forget about Liam. It’s not like it was real.

  
But now Liam had someone else and he was probably just fine and maybe he didn’t actually want to get back together with Harry at all.

  
And even though Liam mentioned wanting to see him, and brought up the fact that he missed him, it didn’t matter. Soon enough he’d probably forget all about him.

  
Harry cries himself to sleep that night and Louis is right at his side, holding him until he falls to sleep.

 

  
\--

 

  
Harry spends as much time as he can with George to dull the pain but it doesn’t help at all. George constantly wants to know what they are, and Harry can tell that he’s starting to get frustrated with Harry. They still haven’t slept together and George is starting to feel like he’s the reason. Which isn’t exactly true, George is a great guy. Harry just isn’t sure he can really move on yet.

 

  
He breaks things of with George a few weeks later. He’s at a place in his life where he just needs to be alone, breathe a little. Trying to immerse himself in someone else just didn’t work.

  
So much for rebounding.

 

 

When Louis tries to convince Harry to stop crying and go see Liam in person, Harry almost asks him to repeat himself.

  
“I thought you hated him?” Harry says and Louis sighs.

  
“I don’t hate Liam. I was just worried about you, you’re my best friend.”

  
Harry smiles. Louis is his best friend too but it’s still nice hear.

  
“But it’s obvious you love him. And you’re pretty pitiful without him and I can’t bear to see you like this.”

  
Harry is so lucky to have a friend like Louis. He wasn’t the biggest fan of his relationship with Liam at the start but now he’s trying to put Harry’s happiness above his own and that means the world to him.

  
“Plus you’re a grown ass man now and you can make your own stupid decisions.”

  
He means for it to be funny but Harry can’t exactly laugh.

  
“It doesn’t really matter though Lou. He’s dating someone else.”

  
“Big deal.” Louis huffs out, rubbing Harry’s back gently. “Michael doesn’t hold a candle to you and I’m sure Liam knows that. Just talk to him.”

  
Harry still isn’t sure what he should say but he definitely wont be able to figure things out being sad here.

  
He’s going to go home. And he’s going to talk to Liam.

 

 

—

 

 

He’s happy to be back home. If not for Liam at least to see his family. It’s not even December yet but everyones already in the Christmas spirit and as much as he loves seeing the lights everywhere he’s not sure he’s exactly in the mood this year.

  
He doesn’t call Liam right away, he doesn’t have the guts to. Liam's the reason for him being here but he needs a few days to himself, to prepare for what he’s actually going to say. Is he going to try to win Liam back or is it just too soon? Is that even what Liam wants? He feels pretty pathetic, needing Liam like this. They haven’t even been broken up that long, but he doesn’t even care. Liam’s his life now and he can’t imagine existing without him.

  
Unfortunately, fate seems to have other plans for Harry because he ends up running into Liam the first time he gets out of his flat.

  
He runs into him at a cafe, of all places and when Liam actually sees him there’s so much tension between them Harry feels like he might combust.

  
“You’re home.” Liam says and Harry almost doesn’t hear him, he’s too busy staring. Liam looks better than ever but maybe Harry is just imagining it because it’s been a while since he’s actually seen him. Being attracted to Liam was never his problem.

  
“Yeah, I came to visit my mum.” Harry lies. His voice cracks a little when he says it, almost feeling bad. He should just fess up and tell Liam the real reason why he’s here but he can’t muck up the courage just yet. Not until he figures out exactly what he’s going to say.

  
“I’m glad your back.” Liam says and Harry wants to ask him what he means by it but he doesn’t want to say something stupid or mess anything up.

  
“Hey um, I really want to catch up but I actually have to get going.” Harry lies again, waving at Liam awkwardly before walking away. He can’t believe how nervous he still gets around Liam. How much Liam makes him feel.

  
“Harry!” He hears behind him. He’s barely gotten 5 feet out the door before Liam’s calling out to him.

  
“When?” He says simply and Harry looks around, confused.

  
“When what?”

  
“When can we catch up?” He asks.

  
Liam looks fucking adorable and Harry wants to say “right now” but he knows that he can’t. Plus he doesn’t want to look too desperate.

  
“Umm” Harry replies, thinking.

  
“Come over tonight?” Liam pleads, and he looks almost desperate. But Harry knows that can’t be possible.

  
“Okay” Harry says before he has a chance to take it back.

 

\--

 

 

Liam’s pacing when he hears the knock on his door and he stops in his tracks, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. He’s years older than Harry but he still feels like a 16 year old boy when he’s in his presence.

  
He opens the door in a rush and Harry smiles at him, stepping in hesitantly. Liam shuts the door behind him without saying a word and they just look at each other silently. Harry looks like he’s about to say something but then he shuts his mouth, just walking towards Liam and closing the gap between them. Before Liam can even ask what’s happening Harry’s reaching for him, pulling him into a kiss and tangling his fingers into Liam’s hair. Liam knows he should probably ask him what’s happening, or even stop things from escalating but he can’t. All he can think about Harry’s hands on him, his lips touching his own and his body moves on instinct, pulling Harry into him even harder.

  
Liam pushes Harry further into the room, both almost tripping over the furniture as they stumble to the couch, Harry immediately sinking into the cushions as Liam follows him down.nHe'd be lying if he said he didn't want them to end up in this exact place when he'd seen Harry earlier today. 

  
It just feels right, being here with Harry again and Liam doesn’t even want to speak. He doesn’t want to ruin this perfect moment between them.

  
He gets Harry’s jeans undone quickly, pulling them off with force and his fingers find the waist of Harry’s briefs with ease, fingers dipping underneath slowly. Harry’s eyes are closed and he’s making familiar sounds and it’s turning Liam on quickly. He forgotten how much he’s missed this. He kisses Harry’s stomach tenderly, trying to convey everything that he’s feeling with just one simple touch, fingers finally grazing over Harry’s hard length. He gets his briefs down, the material pooling around his lower thighs as Liam kneels over him, face inching closer and closer to where his hands touch skin.

  
When he finally gets his mouth on him he can feel Harry flinch beneath him and it encourages Liam to keep going. He’s missed doing this, missed the taste of Harry on his tongue, missed the way Harry’s body feels hot on his skin.

  
Liam drags his tongue up and down Harry’s cock, his tongue swirling around the tip as he massages Harry’s balls lightly. He can feel Harry’s hands on his shoulders, gripping tightly as Liam continues. He wants to say something, tell Harry how beautiful he looks all laid out for him like this, but he doesn’t want to ruin it. Doesn’t want to say anything that may potentially stop this from going further.

  
Finally he gets his entire mouth around him, pulling off and then bobbing back down, fingers pressing in just the slightest bit deeper. Harry’s breathing gets heavier, and Liam knows that he’s getting close, he’s been here so many times before and he can tell what Harry looks like right before he comes.

  
Liam lets his hand trail upwards on Harry’s leg, reaching his stomach and moving his hand over the flesh gently, knows that Harry loves when he does this. Then he can feel Harrys fingers intertwining with his own, a silent gesture that Harry’s in this moment just as much as Liam is.

  
When Harry finally spills Liam doesn’t pull off, taking all of Harry down that he can and using his free hand to stroke him through it. He cleans as much of Harry up with his tongue as possible before slowing moving back up, lips crashing into Harry’s own hard. They kiss for what feels like an eternity, Liam’s own erection forgotten in the haze.

 

  
\--

 

  
They lay there for a long time not saying anything, both of them not wanting to ruin the moment.

  
But Harry knows he has to say something eventually and he sits up from Liam, finally able to look him in the eye.

  
“I broke it off with George.”

  
Harry had this entire speech planned before he came over but that’s all that he can manage to say. The rest of it went out of his head the second that he saw Liam.

  
“Really?” Liam asks, so much hope filled in his voice and Harry only nods.

  
“I couldn’t…” He starts to say but then trails off. Couldn’t be with anyone else. He’s pretty sure that Liam understands what he means.

  
“I haven’t ended things with Michael yet.” Liam says suddenly and Harry isn’t sure how he’s supposed to feel about it. Of course he’s upset abut it but he doesn’t exactly have a right to be.

  
“But I’m going to.” Liam says, sitting up a little and looking at Harry with complete sincerity in his voice. “Harry, I…”

  
But before he can finish his sentence Harry’s phone is ringing and Louis’ name is flashing on the screen.

  
“It’s Louis.” Harry says before clicking ignore on his phone. He will call him back later, right now is not a good time and he’s not sure what Louis would have to say about all of this.

  
“Does he know you’re here?” Liam asks and Harry nods, getting up from the couch and gathering his clothes.

  
“I should probably go.” Harry says sheepishly, not entirely sure what to do in this situation. Maybe he’s being cowardly by walking away from Liam again, especially after something like this, but until Liam is actually a single man again Harry thinks he should probably give them some space.

  
“I want this.” Harry says simply “But you need to take care of some stuff first.” He attempts to get his clothes back on and then sheepishly smiles at Liam before heading to leave.

“Harry!” Liam calls out to him as Harry reaches the door. “Give me a few days to sort things out okay?”

  
Harry smiles at him quickly, then shuts the door behind him.

 

\--

 

  
Even though Liam asked for a couple days Harry can barely make it through one without starting to over analyze everything. What if Liam had talked to Michael and he somehow convinced Liam that he was making a mistake by breaking things off? Or what if Liam had never even intended to break up with him and that last hook up with Harry was just a one time thing?

Harry can’t stop his mind from racing and Louis isn’t making things much better. He’s constantly prying and trying to get Harry to tell him what happened, what his plans are. And Harry continues to lie. He tells Louis that he still hasn’t talked to Liam yet. He just doesn’t want to ruin things. And he doesn’t want a lecture from Louis about how he needs to just be honest with how he feels. He’s trying to give Liam the space to sort it out. And once he does, then he can tell Louis. But at least Louis has come around, somewhat, in regards to Liam. At least he’s encouraging Harry to be happy and do what he wants instead of trying to warn him about Liam’s intentions. It’s nice to see that things are changing.

 

  
\--

 

  
Harry’s sitting alone in bed when he hears a tapping at his window and he rushes over to open it, seeing Liam outside.

  
“Liam?” Harry laughs, grabbing Liam’s arm and helping him inside. “What are you doing?”

  
“I was gonna call…” Liam says, following Harry over to the bed, “but I’ve never snuck into your room before and thought it would be fun. I guess you can add breaking and entering to my record now.”  
“It’s not breaking and entering if you’re invited.” Harry smiles at him, settling on the bed. He’s happy that Liam’s here, even if it’s a little dangerous. His parents are right downstairs. It’s kind of thrilling though. He’s snuck into Liam’s window plenty of times before but it’s never been the other way around. "We gotta stop meeting like this though." Harry jokes.

  
“I broke up with Michael.” Liam says suddenly, hands clasped in his lap as he turns to look at Harry.

  
Harry can’t help the smile that forms on his face.

  
“What’d you tell him?” He wonders.

  
Liam’s quiet for a second before answering. “That it was never over with someone else.”

  
Harry smiles widely at that, so happy to hear the words coming from Liam’s mouth and he leans in, closing the gap between them and kissing Liam on the lips softly, thanking him.

  
“We’re such a mess.” Liam laughs after the kiss and Harry has to agree.

  
“I know. But we always have been, haven’t we?”

  
Liam nods.

  
“But I kind of like it that way.” He finishes.

  
“I’m so sorry Harry.” Liam says genuinely, scooting in a little bit closer. “I was the biggest idiot in the world letting you go. And telling you to experiment. And arguing with you at all. Basically, I’m just an idiot.”

  
“Well then I’m an idiot too.” Harry interrupts. “For listening to you in the first place. I should have fought harder.”

  
Liam grabs his hand then, squeezing gently.

  
“But just so you know… I never slept with George.” Somehow he feels its important to tell Liam that.

  
Liam smiles. “Really?” He asks and Harry nods. He looks so happy. Liam leans in suddenly, kissing Harry intensely. “Thank god… I never slept with Michael either.”

  
Harry sighs in relief, thankful for that too. The idea of Liam being intimate with someone else is enough to make him go mad.

  
“Be my boyfriend again?” Harry asks, the words sounding strange even to him. He can’t believe that they were ever even apart.

  
“Of course.” Liam says, kissing Harry again. His hands find Harry’s face and he pulls him in tighter, their lips pressed hard together. “I hate that we wasted all that time.”

  
“Guess we have a lot to make up for then.” Harry smiles, pushing Liam back on his bed.

 

  
\--

 

“God I’ve missed this so fucking much.” Harry pants into Liam’s neck as his breath ghosts over the skin, kissing Liam in as many places as possible. His body is pressed on top of Liam’s and Liam’s hands are all over Harry’s body, running his fingers over Harry’s back and down to his ass. Liam grabs him, pulling their bodies even closer together and the friction that happens when their hips collide is enough to make Harry want to rip all their clothes off right this second.

  
Just as Harry’s kissing down Liam’s chin, inches away from reaching his lips, Liam chuckles and Harry has to pull away. What in the world about this could be funny?

  
“I can’t believe we’re actually in your bed.” He says, eyes crinkling and smile huge on his face. “It’s strange… but fun. Almost like I’m a teenager again.”

  
Harry smiles, leaning down to kiss him. “It is fun.” He agrees between kisses. “Sneaking my boyfriend in while my parents are downstairs sleeping… we better be quiet.”

  
He kisses Liam again, this time sliding his tongue into Liam’s mouth with much more intent, kissing him sloppily. A tiny moan escapes from his mouth and Liam’s hands find Harry’s face, grabbing him and pulling him in even further.

  
“You’re not very good at that… being quiet.” He whispers into Harry’s mouth.

  
“And whose fault is that?” Harry retorts, smiling for a second before pulling away, kneeling over Liam on his bed. His fingers find the top of Liam’s jeans, unbuttoning them and dragging the zipper down slowly.

  
“Well then…” Liam says as he grabs Harry’s hands between his own, stopping him, “I guess we shouldn’t be doing this then.”

  
He’s obviously joking but Harry is too aroused to deal with his sense of humor right now.

“Hey.” He whines, dragging out the word for emphasis and leaning down to kiss Liam. But Liam is still playing and his lips aren’t moving, trying to be as still as possible.

  
“Fine, I’ll do all the work.” Harry smirks, twisting his hands out of Liam’s grip and yanking down his jeans. “I owe you anyways… for the other day.”

  
He eases Liam’s briefs down ever so slowly, finally reaching his hand in and gripping Liam’s cock around the base, already half hard.

  
“i’m good with that.” Liam practically whimpers, his hands moving to Harry’s shoulders, pushing him down gently.

  
Harry gets his mouth around him quickly, not even attempting to slow this down, he’s missed it too much. He’s missed making Liam feel this way, missed seeing his body react to his touch like this. Liam hardens under his tongue and Harry can see the reaction he’s giving Liam, sees how Liam’s body is rising and falling with each breath that he takes.

  
Harry finally gets a rhythm going, can tell that he’s getting Liam closer before Liam’s gripping Harry’s arms and pulling him upward. Before he can even ask, Liam’s already pulling him into another kiss, quieting him.

  
“That feels amazing.” He breathes, hands tangling into Harry’s curls.

  
“Then why’d you stop me?” Harry asks.

  
Liam doesn’t reply for a minute, only kisses him intently. Then he's moving, pushing Harry up and flipping them over, Harry now trapped beneath his weight.

  
“Because I really just want to be inside you now.” Liam growls, nipping at Harry’s neck. Harry moans loudly then and closes his eyes. He feels like he’s been waiting for this forever.

 

\--

 

  
Liam’s kissing down his stomach tenderly, unbuttoning his shirt slowly as he goes and he’s taking almost too much time because Harry is growing impatient. Without intending to Harry bucks his hips up a little and Liam laughs grabbing his sides and holding him down.

  
“Be patient…” He whispers to Harry above him, continuing down until his lips find the very bottom of Harry’s stomach, where his jeans are pushed in tightly to his skin.

  
Liam flicks the button open, glancing up at Harry with a smirk before unzipping them and pulling them all the way off, Harry’s dick now fully exposed. Liam tentatively places a kiss on the tip of Harry’s cock, teasing him a little and Harry groans above him.

  
“Let’s never fight again.” Harry whines above him, clearly enjoying the pressure of Liam’s lips on his skin. “Come here for a second.”

  
Liam moves back up his body, stopping inches in front of Harry’s face, Harry pulling him into a kiss quickly. He’s almost too intense with it, pushing his tongue into Liam’s mouth and biting against his lips. “I’m so happy right now.”

  
“Me too.” Liam smiles at him, pulling away. His hand moves downward, gripping Harry’s cock and tugging on it gently.

  
“Mmm.” Harry moans into it, sleepy smile on his face as Liam’s hand moves faster.

  
“I thought you said you were going to fuck me.” Harry whispers into Liam’s ear and he laughs again, removing his hand so that he can get his own pants undone, pulling them off with ease.

  
“Then I guess you’ve got some work to do, don’t you?” Liam teases, laying back against the bed next to Harry, kissing his shoulder gently and waiting. Harry laughs then too, and quickly moves so that he’s straddling Liam, hands moving behind his head and grabbing his hair.

  
“My pleasure.” Harry drawls, kissing him intently and letting his hands trail lower, finding Liam’s dick instantly. He starts moving his hand, getting Liam to full hardness quickly. It’s been a while since they’ve done this but they’ve picked things up like nothings ever changed.

  
Liam’s thrusting up into his hand, and his breathing gets deeper as Harry continues to stroke, little whimpers escaping from his lips every few seconds.

  
“Okay.” Liam says, stilling just the slightest bit, “I’m ready.”

  
Harry smiles at him, leaning over and grabbing a condom and lube out of his desk drawer. it’s definitely not the most clever hiding spot but Liam is thankful for the simple fact that it will allow this to happen much quicker.

  
Harry drops the items on Liam's chest roughly, kissing him harder and signifying that Liam can do most of the work now.

  
Liam grabs the foil packet, putting it beside him for a moment and flicks open the cap of the lube, coating his fingers with it and reaching between his and Harry’s bodies.

  
He surprises Harry by instantly shoving two fingers inside of him, not even bothering to go slow with this.

  
“Oh God.” Harry whimpers into his ear and it’s thrilling, doing this with Harry. It always is.

  
“You okay?” Liam asks him quietly, making sure that he’s not pushing too hard and Harry only nods, continuing to mouth at Liam’s neck roughly. Liam takes that as a good sign and continues to work his fingers in and out of Harry. Harry has started to move on top of him, pushing down on Liam’s fingers with just as much energy as Liam is putting into it. But after a while he starts to get impatient; as much as he loves this, he’s not sure he can keep up with it much longer. His dick is throbbing and he’s dying to get inside of Harry.

  
When he removes his fingers he can hear Harry whining slightly above him and before he has a chance to say anything Liam’s grabbing his hips and pulling him up, hinting to Harry what he wants. Harry reaches between them, gripping Liam’s dick and moving it right against his hole, the tip of Liam’s dick catching at the rim.

  
Liam watches Harry as Harry watches their bodies connect, Harry pushes himself down slowly on top of Liam. The pressure is incredible. Even after all this time Harry still feels ridiculously tight.

  
“You feel amazing.” Liam finds himself whimpering beneath Harry, the younger man’s weight pressing on too of Liam’s.

  
Harry shuts Liam up by leaning down and capturing his lips in a messy kiss, his tongue tangling with Liam’s, pushing in and out; mimicking Liam’s cock moving in and out of Harry.

  
Liam moans loudly and Harry pulls away, smiling against Liam’s mouth.

  
“I’m not gonna last long…” Liam whispers against his lips and Harry smirks.

  
“Good, I wanna see you cum.” Harry’s teeth drag against his ear, biting gently.

  
Liam’s hands are on Harry’s hips now, gripping him tightly and pulling him up and down to help Harry bounce on top of him, timing it perfectly with his thrusts.

  
Harry’s getting louder now too, his fist closing around his own cock and working himself as they move together.

  
Liam surprises Harry then, flipping them over with ease and pinning Harry beneath him.

  
Moans escape Harry's lips more frequently and his breathing changes and Liam clasps his hands over Harry’s mouth roughly, trapping the noise.

  
“Shhhhh” Liam says inches away from his face and stilling for a moment. “You’re gonna wake your parents.”

  
Harry blinks twice, showing Liam that he understands and Liam removes his hand ever so slowly, testing Harry.

  
“Better finish me off already then.” He whispers quietly and seductively and it makes Liam laugh.

  
Harry laughs then too and it’s such a wonderful sound, one that Liam’s desperately missed hearing. It feels so good to be back here again with Harry. To know that things between them are good again and that everything will be okay.

  
“I’m so happy Liam.” Harry smiles at him, taking the words right out of Liam’s mouth.

  
Liam smiles down at him again, taking that as his cue to move this along. He puts his hand on top of Harry’s and moves both their hands faster on Harry’s dick, timing his thrusts with the movement, pushing harder and harder into Harry with each second that passes. He has to move a hand to the bed frame behind them to steady himself, hoping that they aren't making too much noise at this hour. 

  
It’s rare for them to orgasm together but if he times this correctly maybe he can make it happen. It feels very fitting for the occasion.

  
He can tell that Harry’s getting close, can see by the expression on his face, so he slows his hand down the slightest bit, allowing himself time to catch up.

  
Harry whines underneath him and Liam kisses him again as a distraction, biting his lower lip and sucking it into his mouth. He can feel his orgasm sneaking up on him, loves the familiar pull in the pit of his stomach as his muscles twist and clench together.

  
Harry starts bucking up into him, clearly ready for his release and Liam’s mouth finds Harry’s collar bone then, nipping the flesh as he comes inside of Harry. Then he can feel wetness on his own hand, knows that Harry’s releasing too and it’s almost too much to handle, his emotions running wild.

  
“I love you.” Liam gasps, his words mumbled into Harry’s skin and Harry’s hands are in his hair, tugging against the back of his neck gently, and holding Liam close to him.

  
“I love you too.” Harry says as Liam pulls out of him, discarding the condom and reaching between them. He gathers some of Harry’s cum in his fingers, moves it around on Harry’s stomach while he relaxes, cooling down from his own orgasm. He loves playing with it, loves looking at it, loves knowing that he was responsible the mess they’ve created.

  
He could probably clean it up with his tongue, if he really wanted to. He’s done it before, but his body is exhausted and he doesn’t want to move. Just wants to lie here, body collapsed on top of Harry’s, forever.

 

  
\--

 

  
Eventually they have to clean things up and when Liam climbs back into bed he’s got something in his hands and Harry’s curiosity is getting the best of him. He’s not sure where Liam could have possibly been hiding it before now, but he forgets about that as soon as Liam’s back on the bed, holding onto the small box tightly.

  
“I got you something…” Liam says quietly and he actually looks nervous, sitting here next to Harry, fingers closed tightly together.

  
Harry reaches over, puts a hand over Liam’s and holds them still, waits until Liam looks over at him and into his eyes. “What is it?” He asks softly.

  
“I was gonna give it you after graduation,” Liam says, ignoring Harry’s question. “But I didn’t want to scare you away so I just held on to it, wanted to wait for the right time to give it to you.”

  
Harry’s eyes grow big, and he’s starting to freak out internally, the craziest of thoughts going through his mind right now.

  
“And then after you left for university it just never seemed like the right time.”

  
“Liam…” Harry begins, his impatience getting the best of him and nods his head down at the box, hinting for Liam to get to it already and just open it. “Show me.”

  
Liam bites his lip then, nervously looking down and opening the box ever so slowly. Inside is a small silver ring. It’s just a simple band but it’s beautiful and Harry’s nerves are all over the place now. He can feel himself sweating and he wonders if it’s showing on his face.

  
“It’s not an engagement ring.” Liam rushes out and Harry signs in relief. As much as he loves Liam, he’s not quite ready for that step yet. “It’s a promise ring.”

  
Harry looks at Liam, whose still shaking a little bit and waits for him to continue… to explain.

  
“A promise to trust each other. And to always love each other and take care of each other…” Liam pulls it out of the box. “And to not be stupid or insecure ever again.”

  
Harry laughs at that and Liam joins in with him, both thankful to be sharing this small instant of humor, despite how serious of a moment this is.

  
“I have one too.” Liam says quietly, reaching for his jeans on the floor and pulling a duplicate ring out of the pocket. He shoves it on his finger and looks over at Harry. “I’ve been wearing it for a few weeks now, hoping that once we got a chance to really talk again, I could convince yo to wear yours too?”

  
He looks so scared, so worried that Harry may actually say no and Harry can’t stand it. “Of course” he says loudly, leaning in and kissing Liam instantly. “Of course I’ll wear it, it’s all I ever wanted.”

  
He grabs the ring out of Liam’s hand without warning, only realizing what he’d done before he’s about to put it on.

  
“Oh, sorry!” He says nervously, handing it back to Liam whose laughing again.

  
“Here.” Liam grabs Harry’s hand and slips the ring over his finger slowly, smiling up at Harry once it's completely on. “It fits perfectly.”

  
“Yeah.” Is all that Harry can manage to get out right now, just staring at it. He grabs Liam’s hand in his own and intertwines their fingers together tightly.

  
“I don’t know what our future holds but I know it’s with you.” Liam says quietly and it would almost be cheesey if he didn’t look so damn adorable right now, eyebrows furrowed and serious expression plastered on his face. “I know eventually we will have to tell people about out and that’s gonna be… really hard, but we can do it.”

  
“You really think thats possible?” Harry asks and Liam nods immediately.

  
“Our families would love each other. And someday I can get a job somewhere we both like away from here… we can get our own house with a big yard and a nice bed and… maybe even me and Louis could actually be friends.”

  
Harry chuckles. “Don’t dream too big now.”

  
Liam smiles and Harry thinks he looks absolutely beautiful. He’s never seen him so happy. “And someday we’ll be able to walk down the street holding hands and no one will ever care that I started out as your high school English teacher.”

  
They share more laughs and Harry leans in, softly kissing Liam on the cheek. “I want all of that. Every single thing you just said.”

“Someday.” Liam whispers, his forehead leaned against Harry’s effortlessly. His pushes his mouth forward, pressing his lips onto Harry’s with ease, capturing him in another kiss.

  
“Maybe for now though…" Harry says with a smile, pulling away slowly to stare into Liam's eyes. "We can start out small.”

  
Liam's gaze follows Harry's down to their hands, still tightly clasped together on the bed; rings glistening in the dim light.


End file.
